A deaf British diplomat is suing the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for
revoking a foreign posting because of the cost of providing her with
interpreters.

Jane Cordell, 44, has accused the FCO of discrimination after it withdrew her posting to Kazakhstan on the grounds that it could not afford to provide her with specialist interpreters.

Ms Cordell, who lost her hearing when young, joined the FCO in 2001, and won an award for supporting the rights of the disabled during her previous posting to Poland.

She returned to England in January, and was due to become deputy head of mission in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, when the offer was withdrawn.

During the four-day case at the London employment tribunal last week, which was part-funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), it was argued that the value of Ms Cordell’s skills and experience outweighed the £0.5million the FCO estimates a two year posting to Kazakhstan would cost.

Catherine Spain, of the EHRC said: “Denying Ms Cordell her posting to Kazakhstan raises serious questions about disability discrimination in this country. We believe that the FCO may have over-estimated the amount it would cost to send Ms Cordell to Kazakhstan, especially as she has offered to cut costs by, for example, only having a lip-speaker with her at busy times.

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“She is a relatively low cost when you consider that she has no children. Many foreign diplomats have five or six, and receive thousands of pounds in school fees for them.

"What Ms Cordell needs now is clarification about where her career can go.”

A spokesman for the FCO said: “"The FCO is fully committed to equality of opportunity and to making reasonable adjustments to allow disabled staff to enjoy the fullest possible FCO career. In this case, we do not believe the adjustments that would have been required - costing around £0.5m over two years - would be considered reasonable. As this is an ongoing case, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time."